Animal Welfare

The Detroit Zoological Society is an international leader in animal welfare.

We are champions for the well-being of wildlife. With the support of our community, our goals, actions and accomplishments are playing a significant role in reshaping public attitudes and values toward the humane treatment of animals. We’ve demonstrated this with our groundbreaking decision in 2005 to no longer keep elephants (hyperlink to Winky and Wanda page) – as the first zoo to do so solely on ethical grounds – and with our regular practice of stepping in when animals need rescuing. We’ve provided expert care and/or sanctuary to tens of thousands of animals in peril all over the world.

Through our Center for Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare and Ethics, we conduct scientific research to understand how animals perceive their environments and determine how we can provide them with the best possible care, ensuring that they thrive, not just survive. Animal care professionals all over the world look to us as the experts in animal welfare best practices and policy. When we design and construct a new animal habitat, our first priority is that it is expansive and naturalistic and meets the animals’ needs, as evidenced by the Polk Penguin Conservation Center, the Holtzman Wildlife Foundation Red Panda Forest, the Cotton Family Wolf Wilderness and the Great Apes of Harambee.

What We’re Doing

Animal Rescues

The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is frequently asked to help with the rescue of exotic animals from private owners, pseudo-sanctuaries, roadside zoos and circuses. Through the DZS’s Kalter/Lezotte Fund for Wildlife Rescue, these animals are now receiving the appropriate health care, nutrition, enrichment, kindness and respect they deserve. Here are a few examples of some of our more noteworthy rescue efforts.

Bärle

Bärle was a polar bear that was born in the wild in Manitoba, Canada, but was captured as a cub and lived most of her years as a performing circus bear in scorching climates. In 2002, Bärle was rescued from the Suarez Brothers Circus in Puerto Rico and found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo. Her arrival came shortly after we unveiled the largest polar bear facility in North America – the Arctic Ring of Life. She lived at the Detroit Zoo for 10 years, during which she became a mom to female Talini. Bärle came a long way from living in a tiny cage and performing circus tricks in an unhealthy environment to being a healthy, nurturing mother.

Bärle was a polar bear that was born in the wild in Manitoba, Canada, but was captured as a cub and lived most of her years as a performing circus bear in scorching climates. In 2002, Bärle was rescued from the Suarez Brothers Circus in Puerto Rico and found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo. Her arrival came shortly after we unveiled the largest polar bear facility in North America – the Arctic Ring of Life. She lived at the Detroit Zoo for 10 years, during which she became a mom to female Talini. Bärle came a long way from living in a tiny cage and performing circus tricks in an unhealthy environment to being a healthy, nurturing mother.

Lions

Three lions that had been relegated to guarding a junkyard in Kansas found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo after their rescue in 2009. A lioness found in a suspected drug house in Detroit in 1992 and a lion discovered in an abandoned house in Detroit in 1993 both lived out their remaining years in the care and comfort of the Detroit Zoo. Male Simba was owned by the royal family of Qatar before finding a new palace at the Detroit Zoo in 2012, where he currently resides.

Three lions that had been relegated to guarding a junkyard in Kansas found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo after their rescue in 2009. A lioness found in a suspected drug house in Detroit in 1992 and a lion discovered in an abandoned house in Detroit in 1993 both lived out their remaining years in the care and comfort of the Detroit Zoo. Male Simba was owned by the royal family of Qatar before finding a new palace at the Detroit Zoo in 2012, where he currently resides.

Grizzly Bears Mike, Thor and Boo

Affectionately known as “the grizzly boys,” this trio of grizzly bear brothers was rescued as cubs after their mother was shot and killed by a poacher in Alaska. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game contacted the DZS, seeking a home for the then-10-month-old brothers. Mike, Thor and Boo have called the Detroit Zoo home since December 2011, arriving in Detroit via a FedEx plane.

Affectionately known as “the grizzly boys,” this trio of grizzly bear brothers was rescued as cubs after their mother was shot and killed by a poacher in Alaska. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game contacted the DZS, seeking a home for the then-10-month-old brothers. Mike, Thor and Boo have called the Detroit Zoo home since December 2011, arriving in Detroit via a FedEx plane.

Texas Rescue

In 2010, DZS provided assistance in the largest animal rescue operation in U.S. history, where more than 27,000 animals were seized from an international exotic animal dealer in Texas. Many DZS animal care staff worked tirelessly for months, giving countless animals their first-ever touch and expert care, including the basics of clean water, nutritious food, enrichment, kindness and respect. More than 1,100 of these animals found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo, including 696 amphibians of 45 species, many of which can be seen in the National Amphibian Conservation Center.

In 2010, DZS provided assistance in the largest animal rescue operation in U.S. history, where more than 27,000 animals were seized from an international exotic animal dealer in Texas. Many DZS animal care staff worked tirelessly for months, giving countless animals their first-ever touch and expert care, including the basics of clean water, nutritious food, enrichment, kindness and respect. More than 1,100 of these animals found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo, including 696 amphibians of 45 species, many of which can be seen in the National Amphibian Conservation Center.

The Center for Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare and Ethics

Founded in 2009, Center for Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare and Ethics (CZAAWE) is a resource for extensive captive animal welfare knowledge, research and best practices; a forum for discussions on exotic animal welfare science, practice and policy; and a center continually conducting research and training and recognizing advances in exotic animal welfare.

Annual CZAWE workshops bring together animal care staff from all over the world to learn best practices, understand animals’ perspectives and experiences, address the challenges captivity imposes on welfare, and develop the skills necessary to assess and improve animals’ overall well-being. In 2014, DZS leaders were invited to assess and train animal welfare practices at the three largest zoos in China. In 2017, CZAWE co-hosted the 4^th International Animal Welfare Symposium at the Detroit Zoo with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a global organization for leading zoos and aquariums. The congress brought together 140 of the world’s experts in animal welfare representing accredited zoos and aquariums, regional accrediting associations, academia and animal welfare protection organizations to discuss issues of ethics and the future of zoos and aquariums.
CZAAWE Website

What Can You Do?
If you observe an exotic animal being abused, living in deplorable conditions, etc., report it to the appropriate animal control agency.

Support legislation at all levels to prohibit private possession of exotic animals.
- Millions of wild animals, including reptiles, large felines, nonhuman primates, and others, are kept in private possession in the U.S. These exotic “pets” do not adjust well to a captive environment and require special care, housing, diet, and maintenance that the average person cannot provide.
Spay/neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation, ensuring that all pets have a family to love them.
- An animal is put down every 13 seconds due to pet overpopulation.
Upcycle bales of straw from fall celebrations to area rescue shelters to help insulate outdoor shelters for dogs left outside by their owners.
- One of the most common forms of animal cruelty are cases of animals left outside in dangerous weather.
Help make shelter animals more comfortable by making a fleece blanket or cat play toy and donating it. Once the animals are adopted, their new guardians will be able to bring the blankets and toys home with them. Providing something familiar to the animals in their new surroundings can help them transition into their forever families.
- Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. And of those, approximately 2.7 million are adopted each year.
Make your home wildlife friendly.
- Small habits, such as securing garbage and feeding pets inside the home, can make a difference for the health and nutrition of local wildlife.
Close the blinds, save the birds.
- Birds will often fly into a window when they see the reflection of trees or the sky. Millions of birds die every year from colliding with windows, and these impacts can be reduced by simply putting decals on windows or using partially or fully closed vertical blinds.
Avoid using pesticides and herbicides.
- Chemicals from these products build up in soils and affect the native species food chain, harming some groups of animals and causing them to suffer greatly.